The Gift We Owe
GNLCC 12/22/2002 Isaiah 9:6-10 Ephesians 4:1-6
This past Wednesday night in Pioneers Nursery class, I asked the question, “who can tell me why we celebrate Christmas.” The first response was “so that we can get gifts” and the second was “so that we can see Santa Claus.” I was shocked at the response of the first two kids with us being a bible believing and bible teaching church.
I was beginning to feel like a failure until the third child said, “we are celebrating Jesus’ birthday.” Needless to say, I quickly changed the lesson from the calling of the disciples to the real Christmas story.
Christmas and gifts have almost become one and the same word for many of us. God was the first to present a gift on Christmas, and that gift was Jesus Christ. God had a reason and a purpose for the gift of Christ. We give gifts to make others feel good. God gave His gift to change the lives and the final destination of the billions of people.
When we think of the Christmas story, we think of Mary and of Joseph, of angels and of shepherds. We think of stars and of wise men. We think of mangers and of inns, we think of donkeys and sheep, of Herod and of Egypt. But the Christmas story does not begin in Bethlehem. It began in the heart of God before the world was ever created.
When people look at images and pictures of the baby Jesus, they are tempted to think, “Oh how sweet.” What they fail to realize, is that the coming of Jesus Christ into the world sealed the fate and destiny of millions and millions of people throughout the course of history.
That child in the manger was fully human, and yet at the same time he was fully God. We cannot fully understand that but it was true. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, because from the beginning it was the Holy Spirit who conceived Jesus in her womb. This was no ordinary child. This child was sinless in that it was born of God from the beginning. None of the sinful nature that was down from Adam through all humanity was present. God’s purpose for humankind was being shown.
God’s purpose began with a gift. For we are told in John 3:16-19
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
In these three verses we find the reason for the Christmas story. But if you look at the verses closely, you find that Christmas is a reason for hope and for despair. The good news is that God loves the people of the world. More good news God gave Jesus Christ, who was born of the virgin Mary, so that all of us who believe in Him will not have to worry about going to hell as payment for our sins. We will not perish. We will have eternal life. The life change begins right now.
More good news, “God did not send Jesus to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” God is not angry with people because of their sin. Christmas is proof that God is accepting those regardless of what they have done if they come to His Son Jesus Christ. Whoever believes in Jesus is not condemned. The person is not found guilty.
But then the bad news start and the reason for despair becomes evident. It says whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. Christmas is proof that before coming to Jesus Christ, we are lost and have no hope of eternal life when we die. Nothing awaits us but the payment for all the wrong we have done.
Jesus is not going to condemn us. We will have condemned ourselves for not taking God’s way of escape. The Bible teaches, if we do not have the Son, then we do not have the Father. How good we are, or have been, or will be has nothing to do with it. Without Christ we are condemned for there is no other name by which we can be saved.
There is a reason we do not accept Jesus Christ. The verse tells us, we prefer to live without God’s influence in our lives because we want to do the things we want to do. We know that Jesus came into the world, but we love ourselves too much to let it affect us.
All kind of lies and myths have sort of floated in around the Christmas story that have little basis in the Bible. The first is that December 25th is the day Jesus was born. That date is not given in the bible. The date isn’t important because if it were, God would have told us what the date was. The important thing is that he was born in Bethlehem exactly as the Old Testament prophets predicted hundreds of years earlier.
We have accepted that there were three wise men who came to Jesus. We know the song, “We Three Kings Of Orient Are”. The Bible does not say there were three wise men or three kings. It simply mentions that three gifts, gold, incense and myrrh were presented. The wise men also did not present Jesus with gifts at the time of his birth in the manger. The Bible tells us they came to the house. Jesus could have been up to two years old at the time according to the bible.
But the greatest deception floating around at Christmas time is that because of Jesus coming into the world as God’s gift to humanity, that somehow God has become Father of us all and we are united as one spiritually. Jesus never accepted this theory or this teaching. He told a group of his opponents, “you may claim to know God, but you are of your father the devil.”
Hidden in the story of Christmas is the harsh message, if you do not accept this child, you remain a child of the devil. Now we think we have to be an Adolf Hitler to be a child of the devil. No all it takes is for us to be in rebellion to God. Is there anyone here who has not done wrong and rejected God’s plan for your life? We have a nature that is bent on doing wrong even when we know the right thing to do. Do you think that nature is spiritually rooted in God or in Satan?
At Christmas time we see lights all over the place. White lights, colored lights, ice cycle lights, bush lights, and a whole lot more. One of the first things God said after creating the heavens and the earth was, “Let there be Light.”
We find in John’s gospel in 1:9, The true light that gives light to every one was coming into the world.” Light provides us a standard by which we can see the way we are going. Light allows us to avoid many pitfalls from things in our path in a dark room.
Light helps us travel a path for us to get from one place to another. The many lights we see at Christmas should point us to the true light which is Jesus Christ. Jesus comes into our lives, to help us avoid pitfalls, from stumbling into problems, and to lead us into eternal life.
We also discover that although God gave us the wonderful gift of Jesus Christ at Christmas, the gift was not appreciated nor received by many. It was like a gift that got caught up in the wrapping paper that was torn off the other presents and spread all over the floor. Somehow, when the paper was collected, the gift was taken up with it and sent out to the trash.
Jesus Christ was the gift was given for our own benefit for us to be able to live a better life now and to know eternal life later, but that really did not matter to a lot of us. For it says in John of the baby Jesus who grew up in John 1:10-11 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Each of us here was created in the image of God. Our wrong doing messed up that image, but enough of it remained for us to have recognized Jesus. Jesus was first sent to the Jews because he was a Jew, but the Jews rejected Him for the most part. He then came to the rest of us, but we likewise rejected Him. But there’s always somebody willing to respond to the call of God.
Look at John 1:12-13 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. There is a process to becoming a child of God. One must be willing to receive Jesus and believe on Him. These are the ones who God gave the right to become children of God.
Christmas is proof that we have the right to become the children of God. The right does us very little good if we do not exercise the right. The only way we know we have the right is to exercise it. We have the right to not accept the gift God has offered, because it does come with a price tag.
To be born of God is to allow God to literally kill the nature that is within us so that His nature might come to life through us. In our Lifesharing classes this week, we talked about being crucified with Christ so that it is no longer we who are living, but rather Christ that is living within us. That immediately means, we are going to live differently and treat people differently than we did when we were living to please ourselves.
If we become children of God, then we owe a gift back to God. The gift we give to God is the opportunity for God to display His honor, His glory and His love through us to others. This Christmas season the real gift that we need to give each other is the presence of Jesus Christ within us. We sing the song, the Jesus in me loves the Jesus in you.” Well what does that mean on a practical level.
In Ephesians 4:1 Paul begged us to start walking a life worthy of the calling we have received. He’s saying “Look, you know that God wants to live in you. Then let God do it.” That’s the reason behind Christmas—Living For God”
You know wouldn’t it be great that instead of going into financial debt at Christmas time, we went into service debt or commitment debt . You don’t have any money for your brother or sister a gift. Why not write a card saying, “this card is good for me to wash dishes for you five times or to vacuum five times.”
You want to give your parent a gift that means something. Give a card that says, “Mom or Dad, I pledge to stay away from all drugs this year”, “I pledge to watch how I talk back this year”, “I pledge to not get pregnant or to get anyone pregnant this year.” “I promise to behave at school this year.”
You can’t give your kids gifts, “Give them a card where you will fix their favorite meal, or allow them to have a chore free week, or a stay up later card on five occasions of their choice.”
Look at areas that we know the Lord wants us to work in our relationships with one another and offer the change as a gift to someone in our family. Do we have an attitude problem, a temper problem, a lazy problem, a language problem, a respect problem, a behavior problem?
By dealing with these things, we are giving to God the gift we owe. God is glorified, the person appreciates the change, and we grow in Christ. This is so much better than simply buying something at Walmart and being the same old person we were after the gift was given as we were before it.
Ephesians 4:2 tells us, be completely humble and gentle. Is there any family here who could use a little bit more of this in their homes for Christmas. To be humble means being thankful for what we have, because we realize we could have even less. It means looking out for what’s best for others instead of mainly thinking of ourselves. It lets go of jealousy and comparisons. It causes us to recognize no person is beneath us. Being humble causes us to be happy for the other members of our family because they are happy.
Being gentle means a whole lot less yelling, screaming or fighting with one another. What about a gift from two kids not to fight each other for a whole month. Being gentle means taking the time to listen to one another. For us as husbands, it means being even more aware of the tone we use in talking with our wives or our children.
Some of us have just grown accustomed to talking in harsh and rough tones to our children. Our kids think we are just plain mean and evil. They see how we talk to others and wonder why can’t we talk to them like that. Some families talk to each other like barking growling dogs. We can change if we consciously give it to Jesus Christ, and give it to them as a gift.
The verse goes on to say, be patient, bearing with one another in love. This is a gift that we owe one another. Just think of God’s patience with us. He sent Jesus as baby and patiently waited some thirty three years for Him to go to the cross. We all want that other person to change and to change now. It’s not going to happen like that. Sometimes we have to make the decision to accept this person and bear with them in love. Proverbs tells us that love covers over a lot of wrong.
Those faults that the person has that’s driving us crazy, can be neutralized by us changing our reaction and maybe even doing the thing you wished the other person would do. Sometimes the problem is not with the other person. It is with us. People do not drive us out of our minds unless we invite them into the driver’s seat. If we keep Jesus in the driving seat, he can show us how to avoid wrecks and tickets.
Verse three says and make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. In your home, are you a peacemaker or a unity breaker. Each one of us makes our home a better or worse place to be because of our attitudes and our actions. Are you holding a grudge against someone? Have you stopped speaking to someone other than the Christian minimum?
Have you decided you’re not going to forgive or forget some injustice done? Are you always fighting the rules trying to get away with something? If you are, you’re not being the gift that you owe to God and to your family. You’re also not growing in Christ. Everybody is losing.
Most of us are going to feel much more comfortable just giving things that we can buy at the store. Things will not draw us closer together. They will not improve our love for each other. They will not bring peace in relationships where there is no peace. We will have our things along with our sin, and we will all be the worse for it.
God’s Christmas gift to us was the opportunity for a more fulfilling personal relationship with Him. To some degree, that’s what we should be offering to one another. Our commitment to be a more loving spouse, a more considerate parent, a more obedient child, a more loving brother or sister, a more helpful family member and a person more willing to let Jesus live in them are the kinds of gifts that we owe each other.
Christmas revolves around God’s love for us and our response to God’s love. We do not have to accept it, but we will not escape the consequences for our rejection in this life and in the life to come. Remember, it was only those who received the Christ child and who put their trust in Him who received the right from God to become children of God. The True Light has come into the world. What have you chosen to do with it this Christmas.
4. Pushing The Rules To The Limit
K. Will You Choose A New Kind Of Gift Giving
1. Easier To Go To The Store, But…
2. Things Will Not Make Families Work
3. Things & Sin—Not A Good Combination
4. God Offered New & Improved Relationship
5. Offer New Life In Our Relationships
6. Examine Our Commitments & Give
7. Christmas-God’s Love And Our Response
8. Have You Chosen The True Light
Other Wonderful Christmas Gift Ideas
1 Cor. 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
Invite A Family Member Or Friend To The Christmas Eve Service On Tuesday At 7pm.
Sermon Outline Pastor Rick 12/22/2002
“The Give We Owe”
Isaiah 9:6-10 Ephesians 4:1-6 John 1:10-13
A. The Reason For Christmas
1. Pioneer Nursery Class Revelation
2. Gifts, Santa Clause, The Birthday Of Jesus
3. Images Coming To Mind Of The Christmas Story
4. Mary, Joseph, Angels, Shepherds, Stars, Animals
B. The Baby Jesus
1. Sealer Of The Fate Of Many
2. Born Of A Virgin—Fully God & Gully Human
3. Conceived By God With A Purpose
4. No Ordinary Child
C. The Plan Of God & The Gift
John 3:16-19
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
1. Reasons For Hope & Despair
2. God Loves People—No Need To Perish
3. Jesus Came To Save Not Condemn
4. Already Condemn—Our Choice
5. We Reject For A Reason
D. Not Everything We Hear About Christmas Is In There
1. The Date Of December 25th
2. The Three Wise Men
3. The Gifts In The Manger
4. The Age At The Time Of The Gifts
5. The Brotherhood Of Humanity
6. Hidden Message In Christmas
7. Child Of God—Child Of Satan
E. Why All The Lights
1. Lights Of All Kind Everywhere
John 1:9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
2. Light Provides A Standard
3. Jesus Is The Light
4. Not All Gifts Are Appreciated
5. The Gift Thrown Out With The Paper
John 1:10-11 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
6. In God’s Image But Marred & Rejected
7. Some Will Respond
John 1:12-13 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
8. Process To Becoming A Child Of God
9. The Right Must Be Exercised
F. The Duty Owed With The Gift
1. Death And Crucifixion With Christ
2. Living And Acting Differently
G. What It Looks Like To Become A Child Of God
1. Display God’s Honor, Glory, & Love
2. Gift We Owe—The Presence Of Jesus Christ
Ephes. 4:1-3 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
3. Giving A Gift That Lasts—No Money But Change
4. Cards With Pledges & Services
5. Kids To Parents—Parents To Children
6. Attitudes, Tempers, Laziness, Language, Respect
7. God Honored, Person Blessed, We Grow
8. Better Than Shopping At Walmart
H. Presenting The Gift Of Being Humble & Gentle
1. Being Thankful & Grateful
2. Thinking Of What’s Best For Others
3. Letting Go Of Jealousy & Comparisons
4. A Lot Less Yelling, Screaming, Fighting
I. Presenting The Gift Of Patience, Bearing One Another
1. God Sent A Baby Not An Adult
2. Choose To Love And Accept
3. Love Covers Sins
4. The Real Reason We Are Driven Crazy
5. Is Jesus In The Drivers Seat
J. Gift Of Keeping The Unity & The Peace
1. Am I A Peacemaker Or Unity Breaker
2. Attitudes And Actions Make A Difference
3. Holding On To Grudges & Unforgiveness
